Freshwater Creek Land System

Download the pdf version of this document: Freshwater Creek Land System (PDF - 244 KB)
To view the information, PDF requires the use of a PDF reader. This can be installed for free from the Adobe website (external link).

These gently sloping plains with heavy soils are similar to many areas on the basaltic plains of Western Victoria. Unlike most pasts of the plains, this originally carried a woodland of Eucalyptus viminalis and E. ovata, which now exists mainly as roadside remnants.

These species tend to be replaced by E. leucoxylon in the east and E. camaldulensis in the north, the latter species being the most common tree on the basaltic plains in western Victoria. The presence of E. viminalis and E. ovata may reflect the climate, which is wetter than is normal for basaltic plains.

The main land use is sheep and beef cattle grazing. The low incidence of basaltic outcrops means that much of the area is arable, and cereal cropping is common. Minor soil salting and gully erosion occur.

A Study of land in the catchments of the Otway Range and adjacent plains - freshwater creek

Flat or very gently undulating plains are typical of much of
the basalt outcrops in western Victoria. This area carries
significantly more trees than is usual on these basalt plains.

Area: 41 km²	Component and its proportion of land system
Area: 41 km²	1 7%	2 10%	3 65%	4 15%	5 3%
CLIMATE Rainfall, mm	Annual: 600 – 650, lowest January (30), highest August (60)
Temperature, 0^oC	Annual: 14, lowest July (9), highest February (19)
	Temperature: less than 10^oC (av.) June – July
	Precipitation: less than potential evapotranspiration October – mid April
GEOLOGY Age, lithology	Pleistocene basalt with some areas of scoria and tuff
TOPOGRAPHY Landscape	Gently undulating plains in the catchment of Thompson Creek
Elevation, m	5 – 140
Local relief, m	20
Drainage pattern	Dendritic
Drainage density, km/km²	1.9
Land form	Gentle rise				Valley floor
Land form element	Cone, scarp	Upper slope, east	Middle slope	Lower slope	-
Slope (and range), %	8 (6-20)	3 (1-7)	3 (0-6)	2 (0-3)	1 (0-1)
Slope shape	Convex	Convex	Linear	Linear	Concave
NATIVE VEGETATION Structure	Woodland	Open forest	Woodland	Woodland	Woodland
Dominant species	E. viminalis, Acacia melanoxylon, E. camaldulensis	E. viminalis, E. ovata, Casuarina stricta	E. viminalis, E. ovata, E. camaldulensis, E. leucoxylon, Casuarina stricta	E. ovata, E. viminalis, E. camaldulensis, E. leucoxylon, Casuarina stricta	E. ovata, E. viminalis, E. camaldulensis
SOIL Parent material	Scoria, freshly weathered basalt	In-situ deeply weathered basalt	In-situ basalt	Colluvial basaltic wash	Alluvium derived mainly from basalt
Description	Stony red-brown gradational soils	Mottled yellow and red duplex soils	Grey-brown duplex soils, coarse structure	Yellow sodic duplex soils	Grey gradational soils
Surface texture	Gravelly loam	Fine sandy loam	Fine sandy loam	Fine sandy loam	Sandy loam
Permeability	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low
Depth, m	0.3	1.8	1.4	>2	>2
LAND USE	Completely cleared areas: Beef cattle grazing; dairy farming; cropping
SOIL DETERIORATION HAZARD Critical land features, processes, forms	Stony shallow soils with low water holding capacity and impermeable rock layers are prone to sheet erosion.	Minor hazards	Dispersible subsoils are prone to gully erosion.	Sodic subsoils with low permeabilities and rising water tables lead to soil salting. Dispersible subsoils are prone to some gully erosion.	Rising saline water tables lead to waterlogging, salting and compaction. High discharge rates along watercourses lead to some streambank erosion.

Page top